Archive for January, 2010
‘Bull’ CAF match to be played on artificial turf
By Bodwa Mbingo 29 January, 2010 10:00:00
Posted by the Swazi Observer
SOCCER – The country’s Orange CAF Confederations Cup representatives, Mbabane Highlanders, will play their first leg match against Zimbabwe’s Caps United on the artificial turf of the Rufaro Stadium in Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare.
The match will be played on Saturday, February 13 and kick off time is 3pm. Rufaro Stadium is one of Zimbabwe’s multi-purpose stadiums currently used mostly for soccer matches and has a capacity of 35,000 people.
Sponsored
Just like the country’s MECCA, Somhlolo National Stadium, the stadium benefited from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) through it’s GOAL programme that sponsored the renovation of the stadium’s natural grass pitch into an artificial football pitch installed by ACT Global Sports.
Referees for this encounter will come from Botswana while the Match Commissioner will come from Lesotho. The second leg match will be played at the Somhlolo Stadium on February 27. Highlanders’ Public Relations Officer (PRO) Dumisani ‘DU’ Sibandze yesterday confirmed the venue and date of the match. He urged all the team’s supporters to gear up for the trip to Zimbabwe as they will need them in their numbers. He said judging by the stadium’s capacity, the team’s players could be overwhelmed by the home supporters hence the need for the Highlanders fans to also travel with the team to rally behind them.
“We have to do well in Zimbabwe to make sure that we advance to the next stage of the tournament. We have a good record in the CAF tournaments and our return now should not be outdone by an early exit from the tournament. All the team’s supporters should prepare for the trip as we’re planning to leave Zimbabwe exactly after the match to be in time to watch the Swallows match against South Africa’s Supersport the following day. This is now a war for all the Swazis and we have to stand by each other as the country’s representatives,” he said.
ACT Global Sports completes Natural Grass study at Texas A&M University
Natural grass study on American football field
Research by leading synthetic turf manufacturer and Labosport benchmarks sport performance of natural turf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Austin, Texas USA
With thousands of sports fields installed each year throughout the world, the synthetic turf industry has gained acceptance due to the benefits of longer playing hours, maintenance savings and all-weather playability. Buyer demands have also increased with trends towards replicating natural grass in more ways than just appearance or shock absorption.
FIFA, as the world’s governing body of soccer, has led this trend internationally with its significant investments in natural grass and artificial turf research. FIFA utilizes natural grass benchmarks in areas including foot stability, traction, and ball interaction to create its synthetic turf standards. These benchmarks have led to safer, better performing synthetic turf fields. As North American buyers seek similar benchmarks for American Football, additional research has been needed to also understand the relationship of international synthetic turf standards as established by FIFA and a top natural grass field for American Football.
ACT Global Sports with cooperation from Labosport and Texas A&M University, engaged the research to understand the sport performance of the natural turf at Kyle Field stadium and compare those findings to the FIFA methods. Kyle Field at Texas A&M was selected as it is well-known for being one of the top natural grass football stadiums in the United States. It previously earned the Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association and is managed by respected field manager, Mr. Leo Goertz.
The on-site technical assessment was conducted in October 2009 and performed on multiple points throughout the field. Tests included shock absorption, vertical deformation (foot stability), rotational resistance (traction), energy restitution (fatigue indicator) and various ball-to-surface interaction measurements. The testing equipment were the same as is used for FIFA field tests.
The results fall within the same range as the FIFA Quality Concept standards for synthetic turf for the conducted tests.
John Baize, Director of ACT Global comments, “We are very pleased to invest in this study and appreciate the cooperation of both Texas A&M and Labosport. As a FIFA Preferred Producer with multiple FIFA certified installations around the world, it demonstrates to a buyer that our fields can perform to the highest FIFA requirements and one of the best natural grass football fields as well. By simply specifying the FIFA standards and testing, a buyer can expect to get a top playing surface for soccer and football.”
News media, certain buyers and consultants are invited to obtain a complimentary copy of this study by emailing research@ACTGlobalSports.com. ACT Global encourages buyers and consultants to use these findings as a tool when selecting a proven synthetic turf system.
ACT Global Sports is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional tufting locations in Calhoun, Georgia, Asia and Europe. It services its international clients through offices in The Netherlands, Cyprus, China, Poland, Thailand, UK and France. Local sales and support is offered through an expanding partner network of leading sport field and synthetic lawn contractors in over 50 countries.
Synthetic Turf Council Certification was awarded to Act Global Sports
STC certification another recognition of quality and reputation
Austin, Texas – December 2009
With synthetic turf providing numerous advantages for sports and landscaping users, the industry has grown heavily in recent years. As the demand increases, so have the number of synthetic turf manufacturers. This makes innovation, quality and integrity a key point in choosing the right producer.
ACT Global Sports was awarded the Synthetic Turf Council (STC) Certification as a Material Manufacturer and Supplier, reinforcing its place as a top manufacturer of artificial turf.
The STC’s certification program was established for customers to have assurance that the product they are receiving will exceed the STC’s quality guidelines, and that the company’s representatives will follow the STC’s code of professional and ethical code. This certification process included a due diligence review and reference check by the Synthetic Turf Council.
This recognition comes on the heels of FIFA selecting ACT Global Sports as a FIFA Preferred Producer for football turf. Additionally, the company conducts extensive sports performance research, durability and environmental testing, and follows ISO 9001 Quality methods.
John Baize, Director of ACT Global comments, “We are proud to have earned this recognition from the STC. This reflects the significant investments we make in quality and developing turf systems that go far beyond meeting carpet specifications. Our global business approach is simple – take natural grass benchmarks, develop a synthetic turf system to meet those requirements, conduct extensive UV and durability tests, and then partner with the best installation and distribution companies to deliver this quality to their clients. The users do not always see the tremendous amount of detail we put into each field, but they enjoy the quality benefits. We appreciate the STC and invite others to join this tremendous industry organization.”
ACT Global Sports is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional tufting locations in Calhoun, Georgia, Asia and Europe. It services its international clients through offices in The Netherlands, Cyprus, China, Poland, Thailand, UK and France. Local sales and support is offered through an expanding partner network of leading sport field contractors in over 50 countries.
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